In this fourteenth episode of Tone Chasers & String Benders, co-hosts Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund continue their seemingly endless journey through the B's—and somehow manage to travel from the Fillmore East to Canadian jazz clubs, through electric blues, across the classical guitar repertoire and straight into the glorious noise of Babes in Toyland.

Along the way, the Doctor recalls seeing the Allman Brothers in their prime, including the extraordinary occasion when he wandered up behind Gregg Allman's Hammond organ, requested a song and actually got it played. There's a Chicago concert that didn't quite go according to plan, some serious discussion about the art of playing together rather than showing off, and the inevitable discovery that remembering rock history and having actually witnessed it are two entirely different things.

And somewhere in the middle of all that?

We encounter Canada's favorite heavy metal band, a discussion about talcum powder, and the Doctor's apparently inexhaustible supply of questionable recollections.

Featured guitarists in this episode:

Dickey Betts — The Allman Brothers' melodic Southern rock architect. We explore his interplay with Duane Allman, his contributions to the band's unmistakable sound and his subsequent adventures with Great Southern.

Ed Bickert — The Canadian jazz guitarist who made a Fender Telecaster sound like it belonged in the most sophisticated jazz clubs on the planet. An exercise in restraint, harmonic sophistication and knowing precisely which notes NOT to play.

Elvin Bishop — From the Paul Butterfield Blues Band to his own distinctive brand of blues-rock, we encounter a guitarist who knows his way around a groove.

Ernesto Bitetti — We put down the electric guitars and venture into the world of classical guitar, where the fingers do the talking and there's nowhere to hide behind an amplifier.

Kat Bjelland — Babes in Toyland's ferocious guitarist brings distortion, attitude and an entirely different definition of tone to our increasingly unruly alphabetical expedition.

Five guitarists. Five completely different musical worlds. Two hosts who probably shouldn't be allowed to operate heavy machinery.

Five more guitarists down,

930 to go!

1,000 Legendary Guitarists. A Fiver at a Time.

Only on the Boneless Podcasting Network.

The B’s refuse to leave.

In Episode 13 of Tone Chasers & String Benders, Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund continue their increasingly improbable alphabetical journey through 1,000 legendary guitarists with five players who manage to cover jazz sophistication, Texas swing, the invention of rock & roll, a genuine mystery man, and modern virtuosity—all before the guys can finally escape the letter B.

Featured guitarists in this episode:

George Benson – Before the smooth vocals and crossover stardom, there was one hell of a jazz guitarist. Benson sends Chaz and the Doctor into his early work, his unmistakable phrasing, the relationship between the notes he plays and sings, and the realization that “smooth” doesn't have to mean easy. The man can flat-out play.

Ray Benson – From one Benson to another, but that's about where the similarities end. The towering leader of Asleep at the Wheel brings Western swing, Texas-sized musical history and a Telecaster into the proceedings. Bob Wills inevitably enters the room, and the guys discover once again that following the guitar backwards usually opens several more doors than it closes.

Chuck Berry – Two notes. That's about all it takes. Chaz and Glund dig into the riffs, double-stops, movement, songwriting and guitar vocabulary that became part of rock & roll's basic DNA. There's the duck walk, memories of seeing Berry live, the question of just how much subsequent rock guitar traces directly back to Chuck—and, naturally, an encounter with the infamous John Lennon/Yoko Ono performance that sends everything briefly off the rails.

Skeeter Best – And then things get difficult. A respected jazz guitarist with an impressive résumé who proves remarkably hard to actually find. What begins as another entry on the list becomes an on-air musical investigation involving search results, wrong Skeeters, questionable recordings and the recurring Tone Chasers dilemma: how can someone be considered legendary when two guys with the entire Internet at their disposal can barely locate the guitar?

Nuno Bettencourt – Finally, the B's arrive in the modern age with one of the great technicians of his generation. Extreme, Pornograffitti, rhythm, melody, impossible-looking technique and a player whose chops never completely obscure the song. And when Nuno's connection to Eddie Van Halen enters the conversation, Chaz finds the performance that gets him every time.

And in between? George Benson guitar archaeology. Asleep at the Wheel. Chuck Berry's astonishingly economical recipe for rock & roll. John Lennon trying to play along. Yoko. The mysterious Skeeter hunt. Guitarists singing their own solos. Nuno paying tribute to Eddie. And another reminder that five names on a list somehow never means discussing only five guitarists.

Because around here, every guitarist opens another door.

Five more guitarists down.

935 to go.

Hosted by Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund.

Only on the Boneless Podcasting Network.

The B’s keep coming—and apparently they’re determined to give Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund their money’s worth.

In Episode 12 of Tone Chasers & String Benders, the alphabetical journey through 1,000 legendary guitarists rolls through early rock & roll, art-rock weirdness, Big Star melancholy, British pub rock and a guitarist whose name wasn’t actually his name. Five guitarists. Five completely different corners of the instrument. And, naturally, several doors that probably should have remained closed.

Featured guitarists in this episode:

Franny Beecher – Before rock guitar had figured out what it was supposed to be, Beecher was already tearing it up behind Bill Haley & His Comets. A jazz guitarist dropped into the middle of the emerging rock & roll explosion, Beecher brings the guys back to the days when this music genuinely sounded dangerous. There’s vintage footage, devil’s music, barbaric guitar playing—and the realization that somebody had to play those licks while Bill Haley stood out front.

Adrian Belew – Where do you start? Frank Zappa. David Bowie. Talking Heads. King Crimson. Robert Fripp. Discipline. Lone Rhino. “Big Electric Cat.” Belew’s ability to make a guitar sound like virtually anything sends Chaz enthusiastically into the weird while the Doctor becomes increasingly unconvinced that “genius” necessarily means “something I want to hear in the car.” And then Robert Fripp’s orbit opens yet another door.

Chris Bell – Big Star takes the show somewhere completely different. Bell’s guitar work and songwriting on #1 Recordlead into the extraordinary “I Am the Cosmos,” Alex Chilton, the strange fate of Big Star and one of rock history’s great cult figures—a musician whose influence became vastly larger than the audience he found during his lifetime.

Martin Belmont – From Ducks Deluxe to Graham Parker & The Rumour, Belmont brings the show into the sweaty world of British pub rock: economical playing, great hooks and guitar parts built to serve the song rather than announce themselves. Naturally, finding the guitar solo they're looking for becomes an adventure of its own.

Ariel Bender – Except Ariel Bender is really Luther Grosvenor, which is exactly the sort of thing this show was designed to stumble into. Spooky Tooth leads to Mott the Hoople, Ian Hunter, Mick Ralphs and the glorious theatrical racket of British ’70s rock. Somewhere along the way, Chaz finds himself unwilling to stop the record—which may be the highest honor Tone Chasers can bestow.

And in between?

Skechers somehow become a discussion of tone and value. Robert Fripp and Toyah wander into the proceedings. Chaz discovers music he could apparently write code to all day. Ducks Deluxe gets confused with Bebop Deluxe. Dr. Glund starts running dangerously low on old concert stories.

And then an old thread comes roaring back when Lothar and the Hand People finally get their promised investigation—only for the guys to discover that Lothar wasn't a person at all.

Lothar was the theremin.

At last: a digression with a point.

This isn’t a ranking. It isn’t a lecture. And at this point, pretending the rabbit holes aren't part of the methodology would just be dishonest. It's five guitarists at a time, one record leading to another, until somebody remembers there are still several hundred names left on the list.

Five more guitarists down. 940 to go.

Hosted by Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund. Only on the Boneless Podcasting Network. (rss.com)

The B’s are getting so crowded that apparently started pulling in the C's..

In Episode 11 of Tone Chasers & String Benders, Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund continue their alphabetical journey through 1,000 legendary guitarists with two Becks, two Beckers… and a Larry Coryell who wanders into the proceedings and refuses to remain merely a diversion.

Featured guitarists in this episode:

Jeff Beck – Where do you even start? The Yardbirds. Truth. Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood. “Shapes of Things.” “Heart Full of Soul.” “Beck’s Bolero.” Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Eric Clapton, Hendrix, Les Pauls, Strats, Tone Benders—and a guitarist who seemingly spent his entire career refusing to sound like anybody but Jeff Beck. The guys follow him all the way to Ozzy Osbourne’s “Patient Number 9” and discover the obvious problem with putting Jeff Beck on a five-guitarist show: eventually you have to stop talking about Jeff Beck.

Joe Beck – Jazz guitarist, session monster and owner of a résumé that casually includes Miles Davis, James Brown, Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra and Gil Evans. The trail leads through Esther Phillips, Kudu and CTI Records, “From a Whisper to a Scream,” “Lay Down Beside You,” and Beck’s own 1975 solo work. Another record gets saved to Chaz’s library. Mission accomplished.

Larry Coryell – Except Joe Beck inevitably opens another door. Coryell was supposed to be a diversion. Then they actually start listening. And once Tone Chasers starts digging through a guitarist’s records, there really is no such thing as a diversion anymore. Coryell officially earns his place in the five as the show veers deeper into jazz fusion—and even plants the seed for a future visit to that Jim Pepper “peyote chant” where Coryell absolutely cranks.

Jason Becker – A genuine shred phenomenon whose trajectory seemed limitless: Cacophony with Marty Friedman, then the David Lee Roth gig following Steve Vai, with the chops to stand in a lineage that included Eddie Van Halen. ALS tragically ended Becker’s performing career, but not his music or his connection to the guitar community. Chaz and the Doctor listen to the Roth-era work, marvel at Becker’s playing, and naturally find time to examine a few of Diamond Dave’s more dependable lyrical and visual trademarks.

Walter Becker – Just when it seems the episode might be over, another Becker appears. The guitarist, bassist, songwriter, producer and Donald Fagen’s partner in Steely Dan leads straight into the question of what Walter himself brought to a band famous for hiring some of the greatest guitarists alive. The answer becomes clearer when the guys hit Becker’s solo work—11 Tracks of Whack, “Junkie Girl” and Circus Money—and hear just how much unmistakable Steely Dan DNA came directly from Walter Becker.

And in between?

There’s unfinished Don Beck business, the Yardbirds family tree, Jimmy Page sightings, guitar-gear archaeology, CTI session-player rabbit holes, Larry Carlton, Marty Friedman, Diamond Dave being Diamond Dave, and the increasingly obvious realization that “we’ve diverted a lot on this show” may actually be the show’s mission statement.

This isn’t a ranking. It isn’t a lecture. It’s five guitarists at a time—unless somebody finds another record and everything goes sideways.

Five more guitarists down. 945 to go.

Hosted by Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund.

Only on the Boneless Podcasting Network.

In this reimagined premiere episode of Tone Chasers & String Benders, host Chaz Charles is joined by co-host Dr. Porifera Glund as the show resets its approach and begins again—this time with a sharper focus on commentary, context, and celebration of the guitarists themselves.

After a run-in with the realities of music licensing, the format evolves. Gone are the full-track plays, replaced with curated excerpts, sharper analysis, and deeper discussion of tone, technique, and influence. The mission remains the same: to explore 1,000 legendary guitarists, five at a time, moving alphabetically from A to Z.

This episode revisits the very beginning of the list—this time in the correct order—and sets the tone for what the show will become: part discovery, part debate, part masterclass in guitar history.

Listen to all the guitarists featured in this episode deeper on our curated - growing - Spotify Tone Chasers & String Benders: 1000 Legendary Guitarists - Dr. Glund's Cut Tape Play List.

Featured guitarists in this episode:

Tosin Abbasi – Modern progressive metal innovator and founder of Animals as Leaders, redefining the instrument with extended-range eight-string guitars, complex rhythmic structures, and a hybrid approach that merges rhythm, lead, and bass into a single voice.

Drew Abbott – Detroit-born guitarist best known for his work with Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, delivering clean, disciplined Stratocaster-driven tones that helped define mainstream American rock radio in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Darrell “Dimebag” Abbott – Groove metal pioneer and co-founder of Pantera, whose aggressive tone, pinch harmonics, dive bombs, and precision riffing reshaped the sound of heavy guitar in the 1990s.

John Abercrombie – Influential modern jazz guitarist associated with ECM Records, known for his warm tone, spacious phrasing, and understated mastery on the Gibson ES-175.

Mick Abrahams – Founding guitarist of Jethro Tull and later Blodwyn Pig, bringing a raw, blues-driven Les Paul sound to the early British rock movement.

Featured recordings include:

Physical Education – Animals as Leaders (Tosin Abbasi)

Her Strut – Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band (Drew Abbott)

Cowboys from Hell / Cemetery Gates – Pantera (Dimebag Darrell)

Lungs – John Abercrombie

(Blodwyn Pig/Jethro Tull era selections) – Mick Abrahams

Along the way, Chaz and Dr. Glund debate technique versus feel, old school versus modern, and what truly qualifies a guitarist as “legendary.”

Five guitarists down, nine hundred and ninety-five to go.

Hosted by Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund.

Only on the Boneless Podcasting Network.

The B’s are getting crowded.

In Episode 10 of Tone Chasers & String Benders, Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund continue their alphabetical journey through 1,000 legendary guitarists, moving from outrageous metal virtuosity and Michael Jackson-sized stages to bebop, Steely Dan precision, pedal steel and the Flying Burrito Brothers.

And somewhere along the way, they may even find the right Don Beck.

Featured guitarists in this episode:

Michael Angelo Batio – Metal virtuosity taken to its logical extreme. The famous double guitar, ambidextrous playing, sweep picking and enough technique to make two fretboards seem almost reasonable.

Jennifer Batten – Known to millions as Michael Jackson’s guitarist, but listen beyond the spectacle and there’s serious command of the instrument: tapping, harmonics, trills and little technical details everywhere. Her connection with Jeff Beck opens a larger discussion about influence and developing your own voice.

Billy Bauer – Back to the sophisticated jazz guitar of the 1940s and ’50s. Bauer worked with musicians including Lennie Tristano and Woody Herman, playing guitar that converses with the ensemble rather than trying to dominate it. An unfamiliar name becomes exactly the kind of discovery this show exists to make.

Jeff “Skunk” Baxter – Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers and one of the great lessons in knowing exactly where the guitar belongs. Baxter could step forward when required, but his real genius may have been understanding how a perfectly placed guitar part can help make the entire record work.

Don Beck – Supposedly the pedal-steel guitarist associated with the Flying Burrito Brothers. Unfortunately, the first Don Beck Chaz and Glund find doesn't sound remotely like that guy. Cue an on-air investigation involving multiple Don Becks, questionable internet evidence, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman and an increasingly desperate search for the guitarist they're actually supposed to be discussing.

Featured recordings include:

Michael Angelo Batio / Manowar – “Kings of Metal” Jennifer Batten – Live at the Blue Note Jeff Beck – “Highway Jam” (discussed in connection with Batten) Billy Bauer – “When It’s Sleepy Time” Jeff “Skunk” Baxter – “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You” Steely Dan – “Bodhisattva” and early Baxter-era selections Don Beck – “War Gods” — definitely listened to; apparently the wrong Don Beck The Flying Burrito Brothers – selections from The Last of the Red Hot Burritos featuring the Don Beck they were actually looking for The Flying Burrito Brothers – “Sin City,” “Dark End of the Street,” “Juanita” and “Hot Burrito” material

Sometimes you discover a guitarist. Sometimes you rediscover one.

And sometimes you go looking for a pedal-steel player and wind up listening to “War Gods.”

Five more guitarists down.

950 to go.

Hosted by Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund.

Only on the Boneless Podcasting Network.

In this second episode of Tone Chasers & String Benders, Chaz Charles and co-host Dr. Porifera Glund crack open the next chapter in the alphabet—five more guitarists, five more rabbit holes… and at least one completely unnecessary detour that somehow becomes the whole point.

Before they even get there, though, the show veers—hard left—into the origin story. Not of rock. Not of blues. Of electric mischief itself.

Enter Les Paul—mad scientist, tape-loop hustler, and patron saint of “what happens if I plug this into that?” And across the ring, Leo Fender—a man who never played guitar… and still changed it forever.

One chased tone with his fingers. The other built the machine that made tone possible.

Together? They didn’t just invent the electric guitar, they are the OGTCs, the OG Tone Chasers that electric guitarists the world over owe a debt of gratitude to - the founders of the six string attitude we live and love.

And somewhere in the middle of all that—multitracking, “The Log,” fake live tricks, and Mary Ford sounding like she’s singing from three dimensions at once—you realize: these weren’t just innovators… they were charming liars with soldering irons and schmaltz.

Then… back to the list.

Featured guitarists in this episode:

Will Ackerman – The quiet one. Fingerstyle, Windham Hill, music that sounds like it’s being played in a room with very expensive sunlight. You don’t rock to Ackerman—you drift. Pairs well with indica...

Roy Acuff – Not really a guitar hero… and that’s exactly why he matters. A king of early country, a Grand Ole Opry pillar, a reminder that sometimes the guitar isn’t the star—it’s the glue holding the whole damn thing together.

Stuart Adamson – The man who looked at a guitar and thought, “What if this sounded like bagpipes?” And then… did it. Big Country’s entire identity hangs on that sound—part Scotland, part circuitry, all attitude.

Bernard Addison – Swing-era rhythm assassin. The kind of player who never needed the spotlight because he was the engine. Backing giants like Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday, he proves that subtlety can hit just as hard as a solo. And you can hear those strings...

Jan Akkerman – Now we’re cooking. Dutch virtuoso. Focus. “Hocus Pocus.” Yodeling madness up front, absolute surgical precision underneath. Jazz, blues, prog—he doesn’t visit genres, he raids them.

Featured recordings include:

The Bricklayer’s Beautiful Daughter – Will Ackerman Fireball Mail – Roy Acuff In a Big Country – Big Country with Stuart Adamson Swing-era sessions – Bernard Addison Hocus Pocus / Sylvia – Focus with Jan Akkerman

And in between?

You get stories. Front row sightings. Bootleg T-shirts signed by the wrong guy. Arguments about whether something is tuned to 440 or 432 like it’s a conspiracy involving monks and oscillators. A detour into a roadie with a rolling toilet (yes, really).

This isn’t a lecture. It’s a ride.

Five more guitarists down… and somewhere, Les Paul is still overdubbing himself into the conversation.

Nine hundred and ninety to go...

Hosted by Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund.

Only on the Boneless Podcasting Network.

In Episode 9 of Tone Chasers & String Benders, Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund discover something they probably should have figured out by now: the B’s are going to be around for a while.

Five more names come off the list, and this may be one of the strangest combinations yet. We go from the swampy grooves of Little Feat to the psychedelic birth of Pink Floyd, take a hard left into Cuban classical guitar, climb aboard a freight train with a Dobro, and finally arrive at a guitarist so obscure the guys begin questioning the list itself.

In other words, business as usual.

Featured guitarists in this episode:

Paul Barrere – Longtime Little Feat guitarist whose Stratocaster, slide work and greasy Southern-meets-Louisiana tone helped define one of rock’s great cult bands. Chaz admits Little Feat largely passed him by the first time around—but Barrere’s playing makes a convincing case for catching up.

Syd Barrett – Founding force behind Pink Floyd, psychedelic visionary, Telecaster and Danelectro player...but one of history’s great guitarists? Arnold Layne, See Emily Play and The Scarecrow launch a debate over whether Barrett belongs here for his guitar playing—or because without Syd, there may never have been Pink Floyd.

Manuel Barrueco – From psychedelic Cambridge to Santiago, Cuba, and suddenly everybody gets quiet. Barrueco’s nylon-string classical playing sparks a conversation about feel—and whether playing slowly, with every note exposed, can actually be harder than playing fast. Guitar as conversation. Guitar as narrative. Nothing to hide behind.

Bashful Brother Oswald – Born Beecher “Pete” Kirby, the Dobro pioneer associated with Roy Acuff and the Smoky Mountain Boys transports the show to another time: freight trains, Tennessee countryside, front porches and, naturally, a big bloodhound sitting nearby. Different instrument. Different era. Same chase for tone.

Cal Batchelor – An English guitarist associated with Quiver and Sutherland Brothers and Quiver, Batchelor sends the guys down another rabbit hole—through Tim Renwick, Quicksilver Messenger Service and John Cipollina—before raising the inevitable question: does every guitarist on a list of 1,000 great guitarists really belong there?

Featured recordings include:

Skin It Back / Feats Don’t Fail Me Now – Little Feat with Paul Barrere Arnold Layne / See Emily Play / The Scarecrow – Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett The Radiant Guitar – Manuel Barrueco Dobro selections – Bashful Brother Oswald Sutherland Brothers and Quiver selections – Cal Batchelor

And in between?

Syd Barrett versus David Gilmour. Joan Baez wanders back into the conversation. Classical guitar becomes a meditation on speed versus feel. Brother Oswald gains a couple of followers in real time. Quiver somehow leads to John Cipollina’s legendary amplifier rig. And eventually the guys look at this particular batch of B’s and wonder whether the middle of the list might contain just a little bit of... BS.

This isn’t a ranking. It isn’t a lecture. And increasingly, it may not even be a good idea.

But it’s one hell of a way to discover guitar players.

Five more guitarists down... Nine hundred and fifty-five to go...

Hosted by Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund.

Only on the Boneless Podcasting Network.